Smartphone cradle used to cheat “10k steps/day” health insurance discounts

Post by astura » Tue, May 01, 2018, 5:19 AM UTC

sundvor wrote: post #88

bluedino wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked in this space, and yes, if the employer offers an incentive, people will cheat. Even for something like a $10 Dunkin Donuts gift card (heck of a incentive for a health/wellness program). We'd go through logs and see people sequentially logging for each day, one team member after another, on the last day of the competition. You'd also find people scrutinizing the accuracy of any reporting we did as a company…

Donuts as a reward for physical activity - what the actual??

Post by partiallypro » Tue, May 01, 2018, 5:32 AM UTC

glibgil wrote: post #81

Steltek wrote: post #12

I bike 15+ miles a day but my work's discount program doesn't "support" biking. If I was into vigilante justice, I'd consider a solution like this too. But as it is, I'm quite content biking for my own sake rather than some pittance of a benefit.

Strap your phone to your ankle

Post by partiallypro » Tue, May 01, 2018, 5:36 AM UTC

fabianhjr wrote: post #94

charleyma wrote: post #59

I've always found that anytime time a financial outcome is tied to some sort of behavior incentive, weird behaviors come out. This especially comes out in sales, where whether you like it or not, individuals will typically optimize for the best financial outcome, which is not always explicitly connected to what's best for the company.

There is also the Cobra effect as a subset of unexpected outcomes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobra_effect

Post by mirimir » Tue, May 01, 2018, 5:52 AM UTC

verelo wrote: post #149

xythian wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my first ever exposure to programming. I installed as many of those crap ad bars as I could on a backup computer and wrote a macro that would open Internet Explorer, browse thru the same 10 sites in a loop, close IE, repeat. This setup provided enough income to cover the costs of my dedicated phone line and ISP access.

Not that i have not done many questionable things like this when i was a kid, but at what point is it an admission of fraud that can get one in trouble?

Post by pizza » Tue, May 01, 2018, 6:24 AM UTC

otakucode wrote: post #51

Johnny555 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobra_effect The term cobra effect originated in an anecdote set at the time of British rule of colonial India. The British government was concerned about the number of venomous cobra snakes in Delhi.[3] The government therefore offered bounty for every dead cobra. Initially this was a successful strategy as large numbers of snakes were killed for the reward. Eventually, however, enterpr…

Things like that should be, but never are, a real teaching moment for people. Manipulating social behavior through any means other than education (which isn't manipulation) leads to destructive unintended consequences. Look at what happened in the USA thanks to the American Heart Association. The AHA thought they saw a slight suggestion in the data that high levels of saturated fat led to heart disease. They wanted t…